Service-switch.



G. E. PALMER. sE'vlcE swncH.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 23 1913.. 1

Patented Ap1..8,1919.

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G. E. PALMER.

SERVICE SWITCH..

APPLICATION FlLED APR..,23, i913.

1,299,662. Patented Apr. 8,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED sTATSEs PATENT onirica GRANVILLE E. PALMER, or BRooKLINnMASSACHUSETTS.

SERVIGE-SWITCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 8, 1919.

Application filed April .23, 1913. Serial N o. 763,066.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, GRANVILLE E. PALMER, acitizen of the United States, and a resi-4 dent of Brookline, in thevcounty of Non folk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Service-Switches, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention has relation to service permitting a current consumer toreach the,

live contacts, thereby permittingthe opening of either. or both circuitsat will and at the same time effectively preventing a customer fromstealing current.

ln carrying out my invention, 1 provide the switch box with a coverwhich may be sealed byv a representative of the company furnishingtheelectric current, and behind which are located the" live contacts towhich the incoming` conductors are connected. The meter contacts arelocated in another portion of the box, in the rear of hinged doors whichare provided with vfuses and movable contacts so arranged that, when thedoors are closed, their contacts engage the corresponding stationarylive and meter contacts, and

when they are opened, the circuits are broken by the separation of themovable contacts away from the stationary contacts. The doors are hingedon axes between their ends, so that', when they are opened, end portionsof the doors swing into the box and interpose an effective barrierbetween the stationary contacts for the incoming `and outgoingconductors, and prevent access to the live contacts. lt is desirablethat one side of the lighting system may be opened without disturbingthe lights on the other side of the system, and it is also desirable, incases of emergency, that by a single Inovement the entire servicesystems may be disconnected from the main distribution systems.Consequently I provide a combined door and movable switch carrier, foreach side ofthe system, which door may be opened and closedindependently of the others, and also a third intermediate door andswitch carrier, for the neutral line, which, on.- being opened, openswithv it they other doors and switch carriers'.

On the accompanying'drawinga Figure 1 shows in front elevation a serviceswitch box embodying my invention, the sealed cover being partiallybroken away.

Fig. 2 represents a longitudinal sectiong therethrough on the line 2 2of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 represents a transverse section on the line 3 3` of Fig., 1.

Fig. 4f shows a side elevation and partial section of the box, andillustrates the doors as being closed wi-thout actually closing thecircuits.

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the switch as being opened.

Fig. 6 represents a section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 1 andlillustratesthe broken-fuse detector.

The switch comprises a box or" casing which may be made of drawn or castmetal and which may be substantially oblong with the usual rear, sideand end walls as indi'- cated at 11', 12, 12, 13 and 14; respectively.To the end walls 13 andlet, conduit terminals 15, 15 are secured byangular-headed bolts 16 and nuts 17. The heads of the 'bolts it inangular recesses in lugs formed on said conduit terminals, so Vthat thebolts cannot be unscrewed without opening the box to permit access tothe nuts.

` The box is cellular. That is', it is formedV with three compartmentsseparated from each otherv by the longitudinal, partition walls 18, 18,which extend from the end wall 13 to the end wall 14. At each end ofeach of the compartments there is an aperture 19 communicating with theconduit terminal 15 to receive a wire which is protected by the conduit.

At the opposite ends of the compartments, which are indicated at a, band c, I secure to the bottom wall 11 the blocks 20, 21 of insulatingmaterial, on which are respectively mounted the live terminals 22 andcontacts 23, and the service or meter terminals 24 and contacts 25. Theblocks 20, 21 with the terminals and stationary contacts thereon arerelatively remote, and those in one which contains the live terminalsand contacts is a cover 26 having a 'flange along three edges to overlapthe end wall 13 and side walls l2 and having an aperture to receive astaple 27 through which a seal shown conventionally at 28 may bepassedto seal it in position. This cover remains in place at all timesexcept when removed by a representative of the company furnishing thecurrent in the performance of his duties of inspection.

The remaining front portion of the box is closed by a plurality ofdoors, which also serve as switch and fuse carriers. Such doors areindicated at 29, 30 and 31, and they lit over the three compartments a,Z) and c respectively7 as shown in Figs. and 3. Each door has outwardlyprojecting perforated ears or lugs 32 to receive a .transverse pintle33, -the two outer doors being freely rotatable about said pintle andthe intermediate door being secured thereto by'set screws 34.` The endsof the pintle project into apertures 331 formed in bracketsor lugs 332projecting forwardly from the side walls of the box. Secured to theinner faces of and forming a part of the doors are the blocks 34, 35, 36of insulating material, one end of each of which underlies the cover 26when the doors are closed. 1t will'be observed that the pintle, or axisof oscillation of the doors, is located between the ends of the doors,so that when the latter are opened, the lower end of each door swingsforwardly and upwardlv away from the box to' expose the compartmentcovered thereby, and the upper end of each door swings into the saidcompartment of the box and forms a barrier which completely cuts oli3access to the live contact and terminal in such compartment.

1 mount on each door block a fuse of any suitable kind and switchmembers electrically connected therewith. As shown, the doors 29, 31,have flat strip fuses 37, and the door 30 has either a fuse or a flatconductor 33 between the switch members. i rlhe switch members areindicated Arespectively at 39 and 40, those at 39 projecting inparallelism with the doors and being' adapted to engage the livecontacts 23, and those at 40 being perpendicular to the doors andadapted to engage the service or imeterv contacts 25. Each of themovable switch contacts consists of a spring clip adaptedto embrace thestationary member with which it makes electrical connection, as shown inFig. 3. rThe two outer blocks 34 and 36`are grooved to receive andprotect the fuses 37, and are themselves set between inwardly projectingHanges 41 formed on the side edges of the doors 29,31.

By an examination of Figs. 2 and 5, it will be seen that, when the doorsare opened, the upper ends of the doors (considering the blocks thereonas part of the doors) will swing clear of the blocks 20 and the bottommageos wall ll, and willcome to a state of rest in contact with or veryclosely adjacent the blocks 21, the upper ends of which are beveled forthis purpose, so that it will be impossible for an evil minded consumerto inn troduce wire past the doors into contact with the live terminals.In this last-mentioned position, the contacts 39 will engage the thendead or service contactsand the doors will be held open thereby. Thusthe contacts 39 will swing through the arc of a circle withoutinterruption, and at the ends of its movement will engage the two setsof contacts 23, 25, the latter serving' as means for holding the doorsopen.

The two outer doors 29, 3l, are provided on their straight side edges,from points adjacent the ears or lugs 32, with lateral raised flanges tooverlap the side walls 12, l2 ofV the box, and to overlap the side edgesof the door 30. As a result either of the doors 29 or 31 may be openedto open or interrupt one side of the three wire system without openingthe other, and yet, by opening the middle door, the whole service systemwill be disconnected from the main distribution system, as the other twodoors will be opened therewith. The two outer doors have knob handles42, 42, and the middle door has a bar handle 43.

It is desirable for many reasons that eachl door shall be closed beforethe switch inembers carried thereby engage the stationary switchcontacts. With that end in view, 1 arrange across the compartments atthe lower end thereof a plate or bar 44, which forms a part of the boxand which is overlapped by the free ends of the doors, when the latterare shut, and I form or provide each of the doors with a perpendicularbeveled flange or guard 45. When a door is closed, as shown indottedlines in Fig. 4, communication with the interior of the box is cutoli", and yet the contacts 39 and 40 are not in engagement with thestationary contacts 23 and 25. In order to engage the contacts, it isnecessary to move the door still further toward parallelism with theback wall of the box, in which case the edge of the guard passes theedge of the front plate. The guardand the front plate perform stillanother function, to wit, that of stops for preventing the threeswitches from accidentally slamming' into closed position, when thethree doors have been opened. 1t will be noted that the apertures 331 inthe lugs 332 are vertically elongated (see Figs.

1, 4 and 5), and that, when the middle door is closed, the pintle' 33occupies the upper ends of the apertures. iVhen the middle door 30 isopened, the pintle drops into the lower ends of the apertures, so that,when the door is swung downwardly, theend of the 'tlange or guard 45will engage and rest against the'iunargin of the front face of the frontplate 44 as shown in full lines in Fig. 4, in which position the movablecontacts are out of engagement with the stationary contacts. The outerdoors can close no farther on account of'their overlapping the middledoor. In order to close the doors, they must be moved bodily upwardlyand transversely of their axis of'movement so that the edge of the guardwill pass theedge of the plate, after which the doors may be completelyshut. The flange or guard is beveled, as shown in FigQ, and its beveledface engages the edge of the front plate and holds the pintle in theupper ends of the slots or apertures 331, when the outer doors areopened. The lower edge of the cover 26 ts under the pintle and is'locked in place thereby, but its lower end may be otherwise interlockedwith the boX if desired.

It is very desirable that some means may ybe provided for testing thecondition of the fuses 'without opening the doors, and therebydisconnecting the lighting system or any part thereof, or fordetermining which of the fuses has been blown. Hence I provide abroken-fuse detector which is shown in Figs. and 6. It consists of a pin46 of any suitable non-conducting material which is placed loosely in anaperture formed in each of the doors which carries a fuse, and in analined aperture in the block. On its outer projecting end it has ahead'47 and on its inner end is has a broad flat head 48 which isinterposed 'between the fuse 37 and the block, and is located betweenthe ends of the fuse. The fuses are ductile, and are easily bent whenbroken, so that merely by pressing the pins inwardly, the condition ofthe fuses may be ascertained, for, if the fuseresists the movement ofthe pin, it is intact, whereas, if it is blown or broken, there will beno material resistance to the inward movement of the pin an'd the.latter will be forced into a position where the outer head engages thedoor, showing that the fuse is destroyed.

As a matter of detailed construction, I have formed the brackets or lugs332 with stops 333 to lbeengaged by complemental stops 334 on the outerdoors, and thereby limit the opening movement of the doors; and I formthe insulating blocks 34, and 36, which form part of the doors, withslots 341 to permit the free ends of said blocks to pass the stationarycontacts.

While I have explained in detail the construction of the service switchmechanism illustrated upon the drawing,it willbe understood that theinvention is not limited to the details described nor to the particularembodiment selected 'for illustration.

I do no herein claim broadly any of the features of construction 'andarrangement illustrated in my application Serial. No. 786.960 forservice switch mechanism (to which reference may be made for theadvantages accruing from the employment of'a switch boX, in which thelive contacts are sealed and yet in which the customer may replace afuse or open the switch without breaking the seal), since the presentinvention provides certain hereinabove-noted improvements upon themechanism therein illustrated and described,and it is these improvementswhich form the subject matter of the appended claims. The switchmechaiiisni herein illustrated and described, however, embodies many of,'thevfeatur'es :of construction and arrangement which are claimed insaid application. While I have shown and described the switch mechanismas 'being peculiarly applicable for three wire systems, it isapparentthat the invention may be equally well embodied in any multi-polarswitch mechanism for control- `ling a plurality of circuits.

While I have shown the two outer doors as overlapping the middle door,so that the middle door cannot be opened without also opening the otherdoors, and prefer such a construction and arrangement for reasonsobvious to those skilled in the art, yet, so far as other features ofthe invention are concerned, it is apparent that the overlapping flangesmay be omitted, thereby permit-ting each of the doors to be opened andclosed independently of the others. As it is, the two outer doors arewholly independent of each other and of the middle door, so far asopening and closing them separately are concerned. Iff desired, the boxcould be formed without the middle compartmentpand the middle door, itsswitch, and the neutral contactscould be omitted, so that there would bebut .two independent doors with their associated switches.

Having thus explained the nature of my said invention and described away of making and using the same, although without attempting to setforth all of the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes ofits use, what I claim is l. `A switch boX, a plurality of pairs of livecontacts and meter contactstherein for a three-wire circuit, a pluralityof doors, one for each pair of live and meter contacts, switch memberson each door for completing a circuit between a pair of contacts, apintle, means for so pivotally mounting each door independently of theother on said pintle that when it is opened it interposes a barriertothecorresponding live contact, said outer doors overlapping the middledoor, whereby each outer door may be opened independently, but theopening of the middle door causes the opening of the outer doors. v

2. A switch box divided into .a plurality of parallel compartments, apair of live and meter contacts in remote portions of each compartment,means covering the live contacts in said compartments, doors, of whichone covers each compartment, switch members carried by .each door forengagement with the live and meter contacts in the correspondingcompartment, a pintle secured to said box and on which each door ispivoted at points between its ends so that when vopened one end of thedoor swings into the rcorresponding compartment and interposes a barrierto prevent access to the live contacttherein, and flanges on each outerdoor overlapping the middle `door, whereby each outer door may be openedindependently but the opening of the middle door causes the opening ofthe outer doors.

3. A triple pole switch box, three pairs of live and meter contactstherein, sealed means covering the live contacts, pendent parallel doorsseparately hinged to the box' between their ends with their upper endsextendingunder said sealed means,each covering one of the metercont-acts, switch members carried by each door for engagement withthe,corresponding live and meter contacts, and means constructed andarranged to permit each of the outer doors to be opened` 'and closedindependently of the other doors, but to cause the simultaneous openingof the other doors when the middle door is opened.

4. A switch box, live contacts in one portion thereof for a three-wiresystem, corresponding meter contacts in another portion thereof, asealed cover for that portion of the box containing the live contacts,partitions in said box between the pairs of contacts, a plurality ofdoors covering that portion of the box containing the meter contacts,one for each pair of contacts, switch members on each door vfor engaginga live and a corresponding meter Contact, a transverse pintle for thedoors located between the. ends of the doors and adjacent the edge ofthe cover, portions of said doors underlying the cover when they are inclosed position, and flanges on the outer doors overlapping the middledoor.

5. A switch box, a, door, switch contact members on said door, a livecontact in one portion of the box, and a meter contact in anotherportion of the box adapted to be engaged by the two contact membersrespectively, and means for so pivoting the door to said box to permitthe membi which engages the live contact to be move from engagementtherewith into engag ment with the meter contact and hold tl door open.v

6. A switch box, separated stationary co1 tacts therein, a door hingedto the box on transverse axis, switch members for engag ing saidcontacts and mounted on said dooi one of said switch members beingmounte to move with the door into engagement wit both stationarycontacts alternately.

7. A switch box designed to be arrange 'with its rear wall in verticalposition, door hinged to the side walls of the box an movable about ahorizontal axis to bring it free end forwardly and away from the boaswitch members carried by the door an movable therewith, and separatedstation ary live and meter contacts in the box nor mally engaged by saidmembers when sai( door is closed, said stationary contacts bein; locatedin the path of the live contact en gaging member to engage the latter,fric tionally, whereby said member will engage the meter contact whenthe door is opener and by its engagement therewith hold th d oor in openposition.

S. A switch box, separated blocks of insulating material thereon, liveand metel contacts mounted on said blocks respec tively, a cover closingthat portion of the box containing the livle contact, a door, switch.members and an associated fuse on said door, means pivoting said doorbetween its ends to said box and located between the said blocks so thatwhen the door is opened one portion thereof is swung into thel box intoengagement with the block carrying the meter contact to completely cutolf access to the live contact.

9. A switch box, separated stationary contacts therein, a cover, switchmembers thereon, a stop in the normal path of closing movement of thedoor, and means for loosely pivoting said door to said box, so that itmay be moved bodily, be disengaged from the stop and be completelyclosed.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

GRANVILLE E. PALMER.

Witnesses:

MARCUS B. MAY, PETER W. PEZZETTI.

